Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of producing a rail vehicle for passenger transport, having at least one superstructure or body of trough-like construction with a superstructure or body floor and with adjoining side walls formed in a framework construction from inclined side-wall posts, lower longitudinal members and upper longitudinal flanges or chords, the upper longitudinal flanges are supported against one another through the use of connecting members, the side walls have windows and access regions with doors, and the side-wall posts are disposed in a zigzag manner and are rigidly connected to the lower longitudinal members and the upper longitudinal flanges and serve as supporting elements for the windows and side paneling elements fastened thereto. The invention also relates to a rail vehicle produced according to the method.
In this context, rail vehicles are understood to be all track-bound land vehicles for passenger transport, specifically both tractive units used for that purpose and cars which are not driven, but are connected to the tractive units. Such mass transport rail vehicles serving for passenger transport are generally known and are used primarily for local traffic, for example as rapid urban or subway trains. In accordance with the high mechanical loads occurring in such cases, the known engines and cars that are provided are correspondingly laid out and constructed in terms of strength. However, that has a disadvantageous effect on their weight and, as a result, on their fuel consumption. A rail vehicle made in a lighter construction, that is to say a weight-saving construction of the rail vehicle, should therefore be the objective.
Such a rail vehicle with a low dead weight is known from German Utility Model DE 94 15 771 U1. That rail vehicle is constructed in accordance with the type mentioned at the outset, that is to say it has a superstructure or body made in a framework construction with inclined side-wall posts which are preferably loaded only in tension and compression, but not in shear or by bending moments. Those side-wall posts form a zigzag-like framework with upper and lower longitudinal members, which is provided with an exterior paneling that is non-load-bearing, that is to say not involved in the conduction or transmission of force. The respective connection points of the longitudinal members to the side-wall posts are constructed as welded junctions.
The production of welded joints is time-consuming as a result of the seam preparation required in each case and the aligning work in order to remove the distortion caused by the welding heat. Furthermore, under certain circumstances, that is to say depending on the materials being used, for example in the case of high-strength steels, temperature control which is to be observed precisely and possibly heat treatment may be necessary. Moreover, structures which can adapt to tolerances are required for the interior fittings of the superstructure or body.
Although screw and/or rivet connections which are seen as a possible alternative do not give rise to any aligning work due to thermal distortion, the production outlay in such cases is comparable to that of welded constructions. Furthermore, they entail a higher weight in comparison with welded constructions, which means that such a construction variant also fails in terms of weight-reducing solutions.